Sweet Dreams
by I-love-u-long-time
Summary: Arthur comforts Ana, and finds himself telling her a bed-time story which may or may not reveal his true thoughts of her. Arthur/OC


**Disclaimer - I don't own anything from Inception, seriously, I wish I was that much of a genius to have thought of it**

* * *

She sat across from him, with her legs crossed and covered by a blanket and that bold mischievous smile that had long been her signature expression. The voice of Audrey Hepburn singing sweetly in the background as their movie went on; because ever since she was a young girl, when she was upset, nothing cheered her up more than watching Breakfast at Tiffany's with him and some sort of alcohol. Although of course back when she hadn't met him, instead she had her younger sister for comfort, and of course without the liquor. And while it wasn't one of his preferred films, if it kept her from crying Arthur never complained; or at least, no more than necessary.  
Though neither had been paying attention to it any longer, and soon, as she pulled her knees to her chest, her smile had fallen to a drunkenly crest fallen guise.

"Why do you suppose she's getting married before me?" The question had caught him off guard, despite the fact he had been expecting it the second she walked through the door with two unopened bottles of whiskey, claiming she needed to get drunk.  
"Come again?"  
She gave a sigh, before explaining herself in an unsteady slur. "My baby sister is four years younger than me and already getting married. When I was twenty every other man I met was a rat." When her eyes fixed upon his, she pulled the blanket up around her waist, "Do you think she's prettier than me?"  
The look he had then given was all she needed for an answer, and a small smile began to return to her, "Funnier then? Smarter? Nicer?"  
"Nowhere near."  
"Then what is it?" she exclaimed, crossing her arms and throwing herself back against the couch's arm.

"They're all idiots." He shrugged, chuckling slightly at her unsatisfied pout.  
"I wouldn't want to marry them anyway..."  
"Oh, really? Who would you marry then?"  
"I don't know," she admitted, "I'd marry you in a minute."  
With raised eyebrows a pleased grin crossed over him, "You would?"  
"Of course, darling. Would you marry me?"  
She waited a minute for his response, shifting slightly as she did so.  
"In a minute."  
With a smile she stayed silent for a moment, allowing his words to linger between them.

"...Tell me a story? Like you used to."  
"I don't think I remember how.. It's been a long time."  
"Pleeease? I'll even start you off... Once upon a time..."  
He laughed, "Once upon a time there was a girl."  
"Was she pretty?"  
"She was the most beautiful girl to ever walk the earth. And she had a friend; a boy who she spent every waking hour with, and they made each other very happy. They were the joy of each other's lives."  
"What happened to them?" she yawned.  
"Ana, stop asking questions or you'll never hear the rest of the story," he laughed, gently nudging her leg, "Nothing happened to them, they still saw each other every day as they grew up, and the boy realised that he loved the girl more than he thought. But it was left unrequited, and instead she gave her heart to a lot of bad men who he was not too keen about."

"This doesn't sound like a very happy story," she stated.  
"Do you want to hear this story or not?" he asked her, with the corner of his mouth lifting into a small smile.  
"Maybe. Does it get any better for them?"  
"Well if you'd stop interrupting you could find out," he chuckled, letting his hand drop onto her foot. "Now, where was I?"  
"They got older and she started dating a whole lot of assholes," she sleepily answered him.  
"Right...but no matter what happened she still meant the world to him, and he was always there when the bad men hurt her.  
"But he knew that nothing could ever happen between them, and she was much too important to him to risk losing her if he ever told her, and although it made his heart ache he never did. She was special. Amazingly so. And he would rather have her in his life as his friend than not have her at all. However, he still loved her, with all his heart..."

He looked down at her, and saw that she was now asleep. He wasn't sure how much she had heard, and a small sad sigh escaped him.  
He stood, after pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, and shut off the television before gently kissing her cheek. And as he went to turn off the lights, he watched over her, smiling to himself as he took in her peaceful form. "Goodnight, darling."


End file.
